Who Strikes The Sand
by pbaxter
Summary: When an assasination attempt on the Kazekage is fioled, the hidden sand sends for help from Konoha. Among the team dispached is the newly returned Naruto, who is eager to show off his new skills but he's no the only one. NaruHina, ShikaTema.
1. Prolouge

"Kazekage-sama? Kazekage-sama!" The three sand jonin trampled the now detached door to the kazekage's office as they flew to the aid of their leader. They were confronted with the sight of a completely sacked room. Shuriken, kunai and sand lay everywhere. A man stood by the window, which was shattered. A trail of blood made a path from the left of the doorway through the shattered window. The man turned, the light of the moon illuminating his red hair.

"The threat is gone." The man stated in a voice devoid of all emotion.

"Send someone after him!" The lead jonin shouted at his subordinates. "We need a motive!"

"Wait. Send a hawk to Konoha. Request a pursuit team." The squad was surprised by the Kazekage's decision.

"Why?!" one of the younger jonin blurted out before he could stop himself. The man slowly tuned his gaze upon the offender.

"Because there is probably more than one person involved in this attempt. A separate attacker will have been sent to observe the attack, decide if it was successful and report directly back to the client. The assassin himself will more than likely flee to somewhere a great distance away from the client, so as to draw attention from any pursuers. Security will be high after the first attack, so it is unlikely that the second man will attempt to infiltrate. It is more likely that he will observe our reaction and make a decision based on that. If an organised squad of ninja is instantly dispatched, it will be clear that there is no confusion as to who is in charge. Therefore, it will be assumed that the attempt has failed. On the other hand, a lack of action is likely to signify a power struggle and confusion in the chain of command, the signals of a successful assassination." His voice remaind completely drained of all emotion. At that moment, a fourth jonin burst into the room. She looked at the man by the window and nodded grimly.

"I'm going after him." She stated.

"No. Wait until dawn. He will be easily tracked." The kuniochi's deep green eyes widened at the rebuke, then looked at the clear path of blood on the floor.

"As you say, Kazekage-sama."


	2. Chapter 1

The Hokage of Konoha frowned as she read and re-read the request received earlier that morning. She sighed exasperatedly.

"Such a high- importance mission… And just when everyone is busy…" She sipped at her sake. Shizune, standing before her, frowned, as much at the fact that Tsunade was drinking sake at this time in the morning as at the problem before them.

"Well, who is available?" she asked, patiently. Tsunade dropped the paper she was holding and picked up another of the scrolls that littered her desk.

"Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata. And that's all." She sighed again.

"That's not all. Naruto and Jiraiya-sama returned yesterday."

"Well… They need some rest. And anyway, I'm not putting that pervert in a squad with anyone who even vaguely _resembles_ a female."

"I'm sure Naruto would love to have a mission, even so soon. And, Shikamaru is a perfectly good leader, and he has his incredible mental prowess. Jiriaya-sama need not go to lead. And with the fighting abilities that I'm sure Naruto's learned from Jiraiya-sama, and Hinata's own powers- I'm sure they'll be fine!" Tsunade cocked an eyebrow.

"You're asking me to gamble an important mission for an even more important ally on a strategist, the most unpredictable ninja alive after two-and-a-half years of unnamed training from the perving sage, and a girl with so little confidence she wouldn't admit to being able to boil an egg?" Her face split into an enormous grin. "I think we have ourselves a bet…"

--+--

A blonde, spiky- haired teen threw open the doors of the Hokage's office, and immidiatly demanded attention. Another teen, stood before the Hokage already, winced at the sight of the intruder's bright orange garb. Naruto's attention, however, was on the Hokage.

"Oi, Tsunade-baa-chan! What happened to the two days I was supposed to have off to settle in?" His voice was jovial, as always, but slightly tinted with annoyance. The impassiveness of the Hokage's face was disrupted by a wicked grin.

"Well, I knew you'd be raring for a chance to show off your new skills, so I decided to give you a mission as soon as possible!" This seemed to hit all the appropriate buttons.

"Oh, yeah… Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan!" He took a few steps forward and opened his mouth, but they were all saved a story by someone knocking on the door behind them. Shizune stepped forward and opened the door, to reveal a pretty, pale girl with long, dark hair that fell to her waist, ending at the same point as her baggy hooded jacket.

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" She asked, before her pale eyes scanned the room. She suddenly froze and her skin took a strong red tint as she realised who else was in the room. That tint strengthened as he began to turn. He glanced at her, and she was a very interesting shade reminiscent of drying blood. When he did a double-take and started staring at her, her face was forced to invent new, shocking shades of deepest crimson.

"…Hinata!?"

She fainted.

--+--

Hinata found herself in a sitting position as awareness returned to her. She kept her eyes shut as she slowly awoke. After a few moments, she gently lifted her eyelids. She was instantly rewarded with an intense gaze from a pair of deep, worried blue eyes only inches from her own. She slowly widened her gaze and found the rest of a worried looking face, blonde bangs falling down from his forehead protector, and cheeks marked with whisker-like birthmarks.

"Hey, you're awake! Are you ok?" He frowned a little as Hinata, a little overcome by shock, felt her face heat up. "Have you got a fever or something? Your face is all flushed!" Naruto put his hand on her forehead. He frowned, and his voice became more worried. "Anosa, you really are hot… what's with that? Are you sure you're alright?"

"She's fine, Naruto. Give her some space to breathe!" Naruto backed off, if only a little. Hinata finally found her voice.

"N-Naruto-k-k-kun?" she stammered. Naruto's face split into an enormous grin.

"That's me! Didya miss me?" '_You have no idea, Naruto-kun…_' She thought to herself.

"H-hai!" Naruto's smile broadened.

"That's what I like to hear!" He smiled at her, and she started blushing again. Tsunade intervened before Hinata became anymore distracted.

"If Miss Hyuuga is recovered, I will brief you on your new misson." She looked pointedly at Hinata. Hinata forced herself to stand.

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama!" Tsunade smiled.

"Good. There has recently been an assassination attempt on the life of the Kazekage. Nara Shikamaru! Hyuuga Hinata! Uzumaki Naruto! I hereby command you to track down the assassin and attempt to find out who he is working for, and if possible what their aims are. You are to avoid entering the village hidden in the sand for now, and will rendezvous with an emissary from the sand in a small trading village two kilometres beyond the hidden village. Nara Shikamaru, I'm making you leader for this team. You are to move out by noon. Dismissed!" Naruto took the dismissal as an invitation to speak.

"Oi, Shikamaru! I didn't know you were here!"

"Yeah, well… you do have a tendency not to notice important things, Naruto…"Tsunade interjected snidely. Shikamaru sighed.

"It's troublesome, but I can't ignore a summons from the Hokage…" He sighed again. "Anyway," he continued, taking command ina very bored fashion, "It takes two days to reach the sand, and this is an urgent mission. I want you packed and by the gates ready to go as soon as possible." Hinata nodded in recognision, and went to leave. Naruto shot through the door before her, brushing her as she passed. Suddenly, she hesitated, dazed and blushing. Shikamaru strode past her, and she seemed to wake up, resuming her exit. The door swung shut and Tsunade and Shizune raised their eyebrows in unison, giving each other knowing, amused looks.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…

Anyway, I wanna thank you guys for all the positive attention the first instalments of this story got. Thanks! Keep reviewing, please!

--+--

Naruto stopped stretching as he spotted Hinata running toward them at the gates of Konoha. He watched her as she drew closer, but her mind was on other things- mostly, the new skills he had to show off, and wandering what kind of opponent he would encounter. Shikamaru sighed as Hinata stopped beside them to catch her breath before moving in to fill in the various forms required for a potentially long-term mission. Once she had finished, she moved closer to her team mates, nodding at Shikamaru, who sighed again.

"If we're all ready, we'd better get started…" And with that, he turned and left the village, Naruto and Hinata following. Naruto was restless, and he practically hopped along the path in excitement. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, Hinata smiled at his antics, and her face took on a faint pink tinge. Naruto completely failed to notice this in his excitement at having an interesting mission. Shikamaru spoke to his team as they walked.

"It's highly unlikely that we encounter any unfriendly forces before we reach the village we plan on meeting the sand emissary in, since we are a hired pursuit team. Also, it's unlikely that whoever is behind the attack knows about us. However, unlikely is still possible, so keep your guard up." The two behind him nodded in agreement. "Also, we need to get to the village in question soon, and it's on the far side of the sand village. It takes two days to get to the sand village normally, but we have to go around the sand village, so it'll take longer. I want to move as quickly as possible for as long as possible." With that, he sped up. This seemed to have little effect on Hinata, who simply changed her pace to change Shikamaru's. Naruto, apparently glad to move toward his target quicker, pranced around a little less. '_Good.'_ Shikamaru thought. '_I seem to have gotten the point across. Let's just hope I haven't told anyone who shouldn't be listening too much…_'

The day passed with relatively little conversation. Naruto was lost in daydreams about his new and otherwise unnamed skills. Hinata was too bust watching Naruto out of the corner of her lavender- tinted eyes, too shy to say anything yet. Shikamaru was just enjoying the silence.

--+--

Laid on his back, Shikamaru gazed at the stars, content. The tents had been pitched, and a hot meal prepared, after some encouragement from Naruto, who was currently emptying the cooking pot of the leftovers from the stew.

"Wow, Hinata! This is really good!" he grinned between mouthfuls.

"I-it's nothi-ing, r-re-really, N-Naruto-k-kun…" she stammered in return, blushing.

"You know, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach…" Shikamaru idly commented. Hinata's blush deepened, and she began poking her index fingers together gently, seeming completely absorbed in the task. Naruto's grin widened.

"You'd have no problems taking that path, Hinata!" he chimed, completely oblivious. Hinata suddenly looked as if she never had been pale and never would be. Naruto put the pot down, clearly disappointed that his meal had already finished. At this, Shikamaru looked up.

"If you've finished, Naruto, you and me had better clean up. Hinata- you can go to bed, if you want. Someone will wake you when it's your watch." Hinata nodded.

"Hai!" and she disappeared into her tent. Naruto picked up the empty pot, gazed at the space the stew had once occupied longingly, then began to clean. It was a quick job, and was soon complete.

"Oi, Shikamaru…" Naruto's tone was inquisitive and worried. "Is Hinata… is Hinata alright?" Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.

"I take it you mean 'in a fit state to carry out this mission.' And my answer is yes. She's perfectly alright." Naruto frowned a little, before brightening up.

"O.k. It was just, she seems like she should be pale, but she's always so red in the face. I was worried she was feverish, or something. If you think she's fine, then it's… well… fine!" he smiled. Shikamaru shook his head. '_Completely clueless…_'

"Since you still seem so full of energy, you can have first watch. Wake Hinata in a few hours, and tell her I'm next." Raising, he disappeared into the boy's tent before Naruto could complain, and it was quite remarkable that he managed it. Naruto shut his mouth as the tent flap fell. Resigned to his fate, he stood, found a vantage point, and started watching.

--+--

Naruto gently prodded the sides of Hinata's tent. His watch over, he was anxious to get some sleep.

"Hinata!" he hissed. "Oi, Hinata!" There was no response. Not realising just how far he was pushing the boundaries, he untied and lifted the tent flap, peering inside.

Hinata lay, peaceful and resting, fully clothed on her bedroll. Her blanket lay disregarded beside her, and she had curled up a little on one side of her bedroll. About to shake her awake, Naruto hesitated. The moonlight shone in over the top of his spiky golden hair, splashing onto her restful face. She wasn't blushing, so she looked a little strange. '_But, she's beautiful, all the same… I never noticed…'_ Naruto shook his head. Where had that come from? Something slowly began whirring in his mind- something that told him not to wake her, but to sit and guard her. Naruto frowned. He was starting to become somewhat confused. He 'watched' the strange feeling for a few moments, trying to work out what it was. When after these few moments he was still confunded, he simply abandoned the new sensation and gently shook Hinata's leg, waking her.

--+--

Hinata's smiling, blonde haired, blue eyed dream swirled as she wakened, darkening and becoming the medley of colour seen only when looking at the back of one's eyelids. Slowly, she creaked open her eyes, wondering why her leg was shaking. She was greeted with the sight of a blonde, blue- eyed ninja, his face wearing a strange expression.

"N-Naruto-kun?" As she spoke, the boy seemed to break from some sort of reverie. He shook his head and the unfamiliar expression became his usual grin.

"Your watch, Hinata. Wake Shikamaru when you're done." And with that, he rose and disappeared into the larger tent.


	4. Chapter 3

Camp was broken in silence the next day. Shikamaru, despite having the most uninterrupted sleep, was not a morning person, and disagreed somewhat with having last watch. Hinata was as alert as she always was, and still pondering the look on Naruto's face when he had awoken her. Naruto had run out of new skills to dream about, and started to wonder about his old friends. Kiba… Choji… Sakura-chan, who had occupied his thoughts less and less over the last few years…

"Sasuke…" he muttered angrily.

Once the tents taken down and they were ready to leave, Shikamaru turned to his team.

"We have to cover a day's travel and then some in as little time as possible. It's troublesome, but I'm gonna pick up the pace a little more." And with that, he sprang into the trees, running faster than he should have been able to maintain. Naruto and Hinata leapt after him.

There was very little talk that day. The three were concentrating on maintaining their speed. There was a short break, during which the three ate, and impossible task whilst running through the treetops, and which was extended a little to allow the group to catch their breath.

The day seemed to drag, thoughts occupied largely by keeping a regular breathing pattern and finding the next branch. Shikamaru kept his senses alive, however- this was where their chance of being attacked increased. Hinata, sensing this also, began activating her Byakugan from time to time, searching the nearby vicinity for threats. On one such occasion, Hinata suddenly stopped and signalled downward. Her two team mates followed her lead, dropping from their branches to the ground beneath. Shikamaru, a few steps in front, found himself no more than fifteen feet from a group of men, 50 strong at least, wielding various weapons in varying states of repair. At the front stood a tall, lanky man holding a long katana. A sash on his left thigh read 'Leader'.

"Eeehhh… Hinata… why did you signal us down?" Naruto questioned. "they're just bandits!" Hinata pointed, and both Naruto and Shikamaru noticed a girl, tied and thrown over the shoulder of one of the more muscled bandits. This seemed enough to change Naruto's mind.

"Oi!" he yelled. "Pu-"

"Who are you calling 'Just Bandits'? Do you not know who we are?" Naruto, not seeming fazed by having his heroic proclamation cut off, blinked and suddenly looked confused.

"I think I have." Shikamaru put in. "You're the 'homeless bandits'. You have no center of operations, you just roam around looting completely at random." The 'Leader' smirked.

"Good to see someone's heard of us, at least…" At this, the prisoner seemed to twitch. A short, skinny man scuttled forward, holding a rusting cooking knife in exactly the way Hinata had watched the head cook in the Hyuuga household telling her pupils not to if they wanted yo keep their fingers.

"Who are they, boss?" The 'Leader' sighed exasperatedly.

"They're ninja, by the looks of them. Now be quiet!" the strange man seemed not to notice the order.

"but they're so young…"

"That just means they're weak, now shut- UP!" and with the last word he slammed the back of his fist into the smaller man's face, sending him flying back into the ranks of the men behind, a few of whom laughed.

"Oi! Who're you callin' weak!?" Naruto stepped forward, raising his fist to add to his challenge.

"Calm down, Naruto!" Shikamaru muttered.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Naruto wasn't distracted.

"Well!?" The 'Leader' looked the blonde teen full in the face and smirked.

"You." That was enough for Naruto, who charged straight at the man, all jutsu seemingly forgotten. The 'Leader' smiled. "Too easy…" Raising his Katana, he lunged straight for Naruto's exposed midsection. To his surprise, he missed: Naruto dived to one side at the last minute, grinning and forming his favourite hand seal as he sailed past the man.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow replication technique)!" Naruto cried, and with a poof of chakra another Naruto appeared, with one foot standing on his opponent's sword, the other already twisting into a kick which met satisfyingly with the man's temple. He flew through the air and slammed into a tree, unconscious. The replication disappeared, leaving Naruto surrounded and alone. The men around him had just raised their weapons when they all shuddered, and as one muttered various phrases to the effect of 'What? My body won't move!' then, like a troop of synchronised swimmers, they all fell into the same, ridiculous pose- which was already occupied by Shikamaru, who stood exactly where he had been before Naruto charged..

"Kage mane no jutsu (shadow limitation technique), success." He intoned, before falling into the next pose, which he followed with a rapid set of hand seals. "Kage kubi shibari no jutsu (shadow neck bind technique)!" A shadow with the form of a hand snaked it's way up the bodies of the men surrounding Naruto, and once it reached their necks, it began to strangle them. Naruto spent no time admiring Shikamaru's handiwork- he had leapt to the rescue of the prisoner, kicking her jailer in the face and catching her as he dropped the woman before whisking her to the side, in the safety of the trees. Hinata, who had bee stood next to Shikamaru, disappeared with a poofing sound, and quickly the real Hinata drooped out of the trees into the middle of the crowd of men. Taking her ready stance, she shot toward the nearest bandit.

"Jyuuken (Gentle fist)!" she cried and as she touched the skin above the man's heart he fell, the vital organ struck through with an invisible blade of chakra. She didn't stop there, flying from man to man, striking them down with as little as a brushing touch, before any of them could swing their cumbersome weapons in the space limited by their own numbers. Naruto returned to the battlefield to see his enemies numbers rapidly dwindling. Smiling, he re-formed his hand seal and pumped far more chakra into it than he had before.

"Now who's weak? Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (mass shadow replication technique)!" and with that, fifty Narutos popped into existence. Shikamaru smirked.

"Well, there goes their advantage of numbers…" The many Naruto's exploded into their enemies, and in a matter of seconds very few remained standing. Naruto released his jutsu, and suddenly there was only one of him.

"Man, that was _easy_!" he laughed.

"Y-you di-d ve-very w-well, Naruto-kun…" Hinata stammered even as she struck down two last enemies, one with each hand.

"You were pretty awesome too, Hinata! I loved the way you just appeared in the middle of all of them! You and Shikamaru!" Hinata blushed deeply. '_He said I was awesome…_' Hinata began to feel a little dizzy. '_But… I didn't get to use all my techniques. You'll like those too, Naruto-kun!_' she thought, determinedly and without her 'usual' stutter.

"Once you've finished nattering, Naruto, let's have a talk with the poor prisoner. Then we can finally be clear of this troublesome business…" he turned to where Naruto had left the girl, and the three began to congregate. Her gag loosened, the prisoner began to roll around and cry her thanks in an all too prone way. Shikamaru frowned. It was almost mocking. Naruto moved to untie her, but Hinata stopped him with a stuttered call. After he backed off, she turned to the freed prisoner, now begging to be untied in a similar manner, her Byakugan still active.

"You can drop the illusion now." She seemed strangely confident, and something inside Naruto made a note of this. The prisoner suddenly stopped rolling about, and as she began to talk, her voice changed, becoming a little less feminine and growing more and more confident.

"So, you noticed. I wondered if a Henge no Jutsu (transformation technique) would work against the Byakugan…" by the end of the statement, the voice's transformation was complete. Shikamaru's eyes widened- He knew that voice!

With a poof, the 'prisoner' dropped her illusion.

**A/N:**My first fight scene! How'd I do, everybody? Tell me, I wanna know so the next one is better for you!

And who likes the cliffhanger?


End file.
